One of the things that baffles me when talking to brides this time of year is how many of them wait to hire their officiant. The venue, DJ, caterer and even the menu has been chosen, but the last person on the list to get hired is often the officiant. I don’t understand why this is. You can’t get married without an officiant, right? So why wouldn’t you seek out the person who is going to make your marriage legal early on?

Your officiant is the person who will welcome your guests to your celebration. Your officiant is the person who is going to say the words you and your guests will remember on your special day. Your officiant is the person who will keep you calm and your guests engaged during your ceremony. Your officiant is the person who will take care of the paperwork and make sure your marriage is legal by getting everything recorded at the county auditor’s office. You may not realize it, but without your officiant you aren’t getting married!

I want to stress to couples that one of the risks you take if you wait until the last minute to hire an officiant for your summer wedding is that many of us — including me — already have “blacked out weekends.” The later in the summer and the more likely the weather is going to be nice (here in the Northwest anyway) the more likely the dates are going to booked early on.

Planning a wedding is a big deal. You want everything to be perfect on your wedding day and that includes choosing the right team to support you and make everything special. Put the officiant at the top of the list — right up there with the venue — and you will have the best chance at finding the perfect person to orchestrate your ceremony. You are planning the most important day of your life — don’t wait until the last minute and risk hearing the words, “I’m sorry, I’m booked.”